How Suffrago's Reporters Are Exposing Britain's Water Emergency
Local Voices, National Crisis
While Westminster politicians trade blame over Britain's water crisis, something remarkable is happening across the country. From Norfolk to Rutherglen, Suffrago’s Local Democracy Reporters are capturing the human reality behind the statistics.
In 2024, raw sewage poured into England's waterways for a staggering 3.614 million hours. To put that in perspective: that's over 410 years of continuous pollution in just twelve months.
When we polled Suffrago users about water pollution, the sentiment was crystal clear:
94% were in agreement with the statement "Water companies should pause dividend payments and invest more into infrastructure until the number of spills reduces and average water quality increases."
From National Headlines to Local Reality
This week, our Local Democracy Reporters did what traditional media rarely manages. They took the national water crisis headlines and brought them home, literally. They're asking how these shocking statistics play out in real communities, connecting Westminster failures to local waterways, local bills, and local lives.
In Norfolk: Exposing how zero new reservoirs have been built since water privatisation in 1989, while 19% of water supply vanishes through leaking pipes annually.
In Rutherglen: Fact-checking Environment Minister Steve Reed's claims about Scottish water quality, revealing that 87% of Scotland's waterways have good classification compared to just 16.1% in England.
Across England: Documenting how water bills climb £43 annually while companies discharge sewage for the equivalent of centuries.
The bigger picture: We're also seeing the Great Water Crisis of 2025 with droughts across the North of England.
When people see their local river, their local issues, their local bills connected to this massive national crisis, that's when real engagement happens.
This is what Suffrago was built for. Not just to capture opinion, but to empower citizens to investigate, report, and demand answers. Our Local Democracy Reporters are there to shine a light on an issue that people care deeply about.
Want to see the full reports? Watch our Local Democracy Reporters in action and share their findings with your networks. Because when citizens have the tools to investigate and report, democracy works.